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Our baby shower

Would (or did) you have a baby shower for your second baby? I wasn't sure if it seemed like overkill since we'd already had a shower for Toby's birth, but then Abbey pointed out, "It would be nice to celebrate THIS baby." And that seemed true. So one recent Saturday, I went to my friend Samantha's house for the loveliest afternoon with fifteen wonderful women and a few chubby babies...Samantha and her mom cooked up delicious quiches and scones and set out fruits and veggies, and other guests brought yummy goodies, including feta watermelon salad and these ridiculously delicious crumb bars. (I ate like 1,000 because they were bite-sized, which, obviously, doesn't count.)We made these coasters and wine labels from Pinhole Press. We wrote "baby" on them and used both Alex and my baby photos. (Pinhole Press has cute baby shower decor, but we actually ordered from their wedding collection because I loved the turquoise color.) (Alex is in the two outside photos, and I'm in the two inside photos.)My friend Sharon also set up an awesome game that everyone loved. The goal was to match up the grown-up and baby photos for each guest, by guessing who was who. Sharon made Pinhole Press wall decals and stuck them to the wall. It was SO CUTE to see everyone as a baby!The afternoon was super relaxed and low-key, and we just chatted and hung out. Samantha had told guests that gifts weren't necessary but instead to possibly consider contributing to a meal train once the baby arrives. (Have you heard of a meal train? It's totally amazing.) Of course, a few sweet friends still brought small presents, like cotton onesies and a Swedish snot sucker:)For the very end of the party, my friend Erin put together these favors: espresso cups filled with chocolate almonds, along with the tag "Little Cup of Jo" :)

Thank you so much for hosting, Samantha! It was such a sweet and touching afternoon. xoxo

very sweet! I had a shower for my second, but also because it was a different gender... I would've wanted it even if she turned out to be the same gender... it's good to celebrate both babies, I think...

Just curious--was this something that you helped plan (it sounds like you did)? I've always heard that it's impolite/inappropriate for the bride/expectant mom to plan her own shower, the idea being that her friends just want to shower her (or her baby) with gifts, and that planning one's own shower would be tacky, like asking for gifts. I know you said no to gifts, but I'm interested in what your take on this is?

I didn't because I since I was having another yummy girl baby, I thought really, do I need this? I insisted no no, like you can only insist when u are uber pregnant. Everyone, even my mother, relented and unplanned. What a party pooper I was! Wish now I had let them have at it! My Lara Louisa deserved a lovely afternoon of pre-birth partying! Sooo, glad you had one. It looks like it was a terrific party. Congratulations by the way! We were NYC'ers for good until #2 was 18 months old then moved to LA. Loving it here, but NY, well it is in my blood. Like to keep up a bit through you!;) Kelly

We played this game at my baby shower last year. It was so much fun. As a a great low-cost way to play, my sister simply printed everyone's baby pictures and placed them in old frames then hung them on our fence: http://hellohomeblogger.blogspot.com/2012/10/over-weekend-my-sister-hosted-little.html

Such a sweet and simple shower. And yes, you should most definitely celebrate EVERY baby!

The meal train is SUCH a good idea. I really wished we would've done one when our 16month old was born. They're also good for people who have lost loved ones. My friends set up one for our former classmate's when her 20 month old son passed last December. Who would ever want to cook/clean dishes when you're going through something like that?

I agree, every baby and every pregnancy should be celebrated, each one is just as special as the first. I threw my sister in law a small Baby Sprinkle for her 3rd baby, as she'd never even had one, and she loved feeling special as she was starting to feel so huge and ordinary! Congratulations and good luck for the weeks to come!

I declined both offers of a baby shower for baby number two but allowed a meet and greet after she was born for close friends to meet her. Yes baby number two was a girl after having a boy, but if I really wanted to celebrate the baby I thought we should wait for her. Otherwise, it's just celebrating me some more.

Maybe because I had both babies in my 40s, I just was less interested in the self-celebration and parties. I just wanted a pedicure and massage. :)

Is it possible that people can't recognize the girl in the chevron pants as Caroline of the hair tutorials? Maybe she'll do short hair tutorials now :)

Her pants are Rachel Comey and are on sale for a mere $277 at openingceremony.us (http://www.openingceremony.us/products.asp?menuid=2&menuid2=4&productid=35397) Anyway, if you go on Pinterest and type "chevron pants" you'll find them.

This looks wonderful! I am throwing a baby shower for two girlfriends right now (a combined 'pink and blue' shower) for their second babies - I agree that every baby should be celebrated in their own right.

Jo I'd be thrilled if you could share the watermelon and feta salad recipe (or at least a basic list of ingredients), it sounds delicious. I have seen some of them floating around Pinterest but I can't find one now. :/

sounds like the perfect #2 baby shower. i facilitated a 2-week meal train for my friend who just had her 2nd son. they LOVED it, and it made me feel great to be able to give her something that they truly needed (since i couldn't afford the double stroller!).

Watermelon and feta salad is so simple. Drizzle a little balsamic vinegar (or balsamic reduction) over those two ingredients and add fresh basil leaves (and olives and/or cucmbers if you like). Here's a good recipe: http://www.babble.com/best-recipes/watermelon-and-feta-salad-sweet-salty-and-delicious/

It's soooo yummy in the summer! The combo of salty and sweet and cool and crunchy is the best.

This is just too beautiful for words -- you are surrounded by such lovely and creative friends! So happy to share this journey -- selfishly because I am currently planning 2 (!) baby showers for dear ones. Great game idea (that is not cheesy). Thanks for sharing Joanna -- and all the luck in the world over the next few weeks.

Isn't this a bit passé? I mean, who doesn't at least secretly want some part in the planning? When you are pregnant and your hormones are going crazy it can be hard to be the center of attention and even harder to accept the gifts/support of others. Having a say in the guests, food, activities, etc. can make one feel much more at ease.

P.S. I like this tradition in yogic culture of celebrating the mother on her 120th day of pregnancy http://kundaliniwomen.org/pregnancy_pages/120th_day.html

I think it would be just as rude to turn down the offer of a shower as to plan one for yourself. But planning a part in your own honor (sure, we can say it's in the baby's honor, but that's deflecting) seems pretty tacky. If your mom/sister/friend asks about your preferences for food, guests, or whatever, and you give your input, that's one thing; but I'm not sure it's really appropriate for a mom-to-be to actually plan her own shower.

Cute! I had a shower for both of my girls and I have to say the second one was so much more relaxed and easy and enjoyable. The meal train idea is perfect and I agree that each baby should get their own celebration of some sort. You have wonderful friends to throw you such a beautiful little party.

Looks like a beautiful and wonderful afternoon. Congratulations. Our best friends threw us a co-ed BBQ to celebrate our second baby. It was a great and relaxing day, which was just what we needed before Sydney arrived.

This just makes me think of SATC (isn't everything an episode of SATC?!), when Charlotte wants to give Miranda a baby shower and Miranda tells her okay, as long as there is no cheesy baby decor, and fried chicken is for lunch.

It makes the most sense to me that the friends of the mommy to be know her well enough to plan a shower she'd love, even if she's not included in the planning.

I would've liked one for my second baby, since he was a boy and my first was a girl, but no one offered and throwing your own baby shower doesn't seem... polite? So nada for my second, although when people asked how they could help I told them meals (frozen, take-out, home-cooked, it didn't matter) would be nice, since cooking was such a trial in those first weeks.

Lynn and Lainie- I found those pants at a Rachel Comey sample sale about two years ago and luckily I got them at a maaaaaajorly discounted price. And Lynn, as soon as I can figure out how to actually STYLE my new hair, I'd be happy to share with CoJ readers ;)

I think that a second shower is a bit greedy if it is a traditional shower where everyone is buying baby items such as strollers and carseats. A party celebrating the second baby is totally different and I think that is a great idea! I also love the idea of a meal train!A friend of mine had expensive baby items on her registry the first time around and then expected a second shower with updated expensive baby items a couple of years later!

Our friends had something to what your friend Samantha did - they called it a "sprinkle" (haha), and gifts weren't required but they had a diaper raffle (bringing a pack of diapers and/or baby wipes entered you into the drawing) which helped stock them up for the next one. It was co-ed, and we still played a couple of shower games that both men and women found fun. I thought it was lovely and a nice way to celebrate/help out with a second baby!

In my circle of friends, it's not common to do a 2nd shower with gifts, but we do get together to celebrate the new baby - much like what is described here! I'll have to remember the suggestion of meal train or something similar (like takethemameal.com).

I think anything short of blatantly asking for cash gifts is acceptable - as wrywits said, these arbitrary rules of baby shower decorum are passé. Plus, this was more of a party than a gifts shower, so definitely not tacky to help plan.

Thanks for the ideas. I want to make coasters for my baby shower. I love to make crafts and now I have a lot fun ideas to try out. I want to have a fun party with all my friends. I will have to try some of these things out.

I have been asked to plan a baby shower on April next year for cousin. The baby will be a girl. The gift I'm planning to give is digital thermometer from www.thermee.net . I am asking everyone to please give me some good low budget ideas for foods and decorations.